Counter Cooler

ABSTRACT

This appliance is an attractive clear plastic box that is cooled by a thermo electric cooling module. It displays AND extends the life of fresh produce. 
     It is intended to be used on a kitchen counter top, so as to get produce out of the refrigerator produce bins.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional patent Ser. No. 12/694,972, issued Jan. 27, 2010.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Throughout history people have been preserving produce by cooling . . . from early root cellars, to ice boxes, to electric refrigerators, to current appliances with bins specifically designed for storing produce.

While the current systems are an improvement over early attempts, they still have several weaknesses . . . .

First . . . the produce bins in the typical home refrigerator are too cold for optimum produce storage of produce because the refrigerator is primarily designed for meats, dairy and other items requiring colder storage.

Second . . . the produce bins are “down in” the refrigerator . . . inconvenient for use and particularly difficult to access fruit snacks.

Third . . . while wholesale, transportation and distribution systems have found ways to chemically preserve produce, no such systems has been implemented into the home refrigerator.

This appliance addresses all these problems by getting produce “up out” of the refrigerator storage bins, displaying the produce conveniently as a counter-top unit with easy access AND adding a system for extending the life of the produce chemically.

There are similar appliances patents for displaying and cooling produce, but none extend the useful life of the food chemically. There are systems for keeping foods fresh by chemical means, but these are limited to opaque bags impregnated with chemicals that are “put down” into the refrigerator storage bins.

This appliance displays and cools produce AND extends the life of the produce by introducing potassium permanganate into the cool air stream to oxidize the ethylene gas being generated by ripening produce.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is designed to display produce up out of the typical home refrigerator and extend the useful life of the produce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1—Perspective View

FIG. 2—Front Cutaway View

FIG. 3—Top Cutaway View

FIG. 4—End View

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The basic box (#1) in made of 0.18″ acrylic plastic sheet. One half of the top and most of the front are clear plastic. The balance is made of black plastic. This allows easy viewing of the produce within the box. Most of the interior is lined with 0.50″ rigid insulation (#2) with a clear vapor barrier facing the inside.

The top is in three sections. The back half is black plastic (#1) and two clear sections (#13) are hinged doors for loading and retrieving produce.

The bottom, or floor, of the box is covered by a 0.50″ removable layer of firm, very porous Base Cushion (#11) to cushion the produce and allow easy air flow throughout the interior of the box.

The electrical cooling system is comprised of a 110 volt AC power cord (#15) supplying power into a 12 volt DC power converter (#12). This powers a 60 Watt Peltier Transfer Plate (#3) affixed to a Cooling Side Heat Sink ((#6) and a Heat Side Heat Sink (#4). Heat is expelled from the system by a Box Fan (#5) pulling heat across the Heat Side Heat Sink and out into the room environment. Another Box Fan (#7) circulates air within the box across the Cold Side Heat Sink (#6), into the main produce storage area, across a Packet of Potassium Permanganate (#14), through the porous Base Cushion (#11), and back up into the back of the Cooling Fan (#7).

A small tray (#8) catches condensation water dripping off the Cold Side Heat Sink. The water then flows through the acrylic wall via small tubes (#9) into an open tray (#10) for evaporation. 

1. The Cooler displays fresh produce in a manner that encourages good eating.
 2. Produce is easily accessible and not “lost” down inside the home refrigerator.
 3. The usable life of the produce is extended by introducing Potassium Permanganate into the cooling airstream to oxidize the Ethylene gasses being produced by repining fruit.
 4. The design is very simple and uses “off the self” components for practical manufacturing.
 5. The design can be “scaled” small for home use or larger for commercial applications. 